ALF
ALF is an Syndication network sitcom created by Paul Fusco (who also provided the voice of the main character) and Tom Patchett. The show premiered on September 22, 1986 and ended on March 24, 1990. Produced by Alien Productions, it originally ran for four seasons and produced 99 episodes (including three one-hour episodes that were divided into two parts for syndication) totaling 102 episodes. It spawned two animated series: "ALF: The Animated Series" and "ALF Tales." Plot ALF (short for "Alien Life Form") is a wise-cracking, furry alien that moves into the house of the Tanners, suburban middle-class family in the San Fernando Valley area of California after he crashes into the family's garage. Cast Main Characters *Anne Schedeen as Kate Tanner *Max Wright as Willie Tanner *Andrea Elson as Lynn Tanner *Benji Gregory as Brian Tanner *Paul Fusco as ALF (voice\puppeteer) **Michu Meszaros as credited as one of ALF's assistants (in costume) **Lisa Buckley as ALF (assistant puppeteer) **Bob Fappiano as ALF (assistant puppeteer) Recurring Characters *Josh Blake as Jake Ochmonek (seasons 2–3) *John LaMotta as Trevor Ochmonek *Liz Sheridan as Raquel Ochmonek *Jim J. Bullock as Neal Tanner (season 4) *Andrea Covell as Jody *Bill Daily as Dr. Larry Dykstra *Paul Dooley as "Whizzer" Deaver *Anne Meara as Dorothy Halligan Deaver *Charles Nickerson as Eric Tanner (season 4) Production Producer Bernie Brillstein was approached to see Paul Fusco's audition with a puppet character, but he was initially uninterested, having managed Jim Henson for years, and regarding Henson as the best creature-puppeteer in showbiz. However, Fusco's brief performance as ALF won over Brillstein, who thought that the character was hilarious and strong enough to be the focus of a series. Fusco co-produced the series with Tom Patchett. Patchett also co-created, wrote, and directed the series. The series was first syndicated by Warner Bros. Television and Lorimar-Telepictures. The United States syndication rights are currently owned by Debmar-Mercury as its parent company, Lionsgate, now owns home video rights. Due to the inherent nature of producing a show featuring hand-operated puppets (à la Jim Henson's The Muppet Show), "ALF" was technically difficult and demanding on series creator Fusco as well as the show's four lead actors. It was all confirmed during a 2006 People magazine interview that there were high levels of tension on the set. Max Wright stated that he despised supporting a technically demanding inanimate object that received most of the good lines of dialogue. He admitted to being "hugely eager to have ALF over with." Artie Lange (who later worked with Wright on "The Norm Show") told of a time when Wright had become "crazed" and attacked ALF, causing producers to have to pull Wright off the puppet Anne Schedeen added that on the last night of taping, "there was one take and Max walked off the set, went to his dressing room, got his bags, went to his car and disappeared... There were no goodbyes." Schedeen herself said that "there was no joy on the set...it was a technical nightmare – extremely slow, hot and tedious... A 30-minute show took 20, 25 hours to shoot." While fond of her on-screen children, Schedeen said some adults had "difficult personalities. The whole thing was a big dysfunctional family." She added, "It's astonishing that ALF really was wonderful and that word never got out what a mess our set really was. Andrea Elson (who suffered from bulimia during the second season of shooting) stated, "If ALF had gone one more year, everybody would have lost it." Wright did later concede, though, that "It doesn't matter what I felt or what the days were like, ALF brought people a lot of joy." In reference to the tension, Fusco commented in 2012 that "It was just the nature of the beast. There was no way we could have made it go any further or any faster," he insisted. '' "I think it was frustrating that it would take so long, but people got paid for what they did. Despite what people thought, that there was a lot of tension on set, there really wasn't."'' Fusco was notoriously secretive about his character up until the series' premiere. During the show's production, Fusco refused to acknowledge that the puppet ALF was anything other than an alien. All involved with the production were cautioned not to reveal any of ALF's production secrets. The set was built on platform raised four feet above the ground, with trap doors constructed at many points so that ALF could appear almost anywhere; Fusco operated him from underneath, so the unoccupied holes all over the floor were deep and treacherous. The trap doors had to be reset multiple times, sometimes during a single scene. Fusco was the principal puppeteer (who was mainly left handed when puppeteering), used his left hand to control ALF's mouth, while his right hand controlled ALF's right arm. Second puppeteer Lisa Buckley assisted Fusco beneath the stage, operating ALF's left arm. At times when Alf's full body was shown in the sitting position, Lisa controlled Alf's left hand by cable allowing slight finger movements. There was additionally a third puppeteer, Bob Fappiano, who controlled ALF's facial and ear movements via a radio controller offscreen. During tapings, Fusco would wear a head-mounted microphone to record ALF's voice. The process resulted in numerous mistakes and retakes, making it impossible to record ALF in front of a live audience. A laugh track was added during post-production. To avoid wear and tear on the principal ALF puppet, the performers rehearsed with a crude early version of ALF, nicknamed "RALF" For ("Rehearsal Alien Life Form"). Fusco did not like to rehearse, and he would often substitute his hand or RALF for the real ALF puppet during rehearsals. While a puppet was usually used for ALF, there were some shots of the tiny alien running or walking around; this was accomplished by the 2' 9" (84 cm) actor Michu Meszaros wearing an ALF costume. Ratings\Cancellation "ALF" scored its highest ratings during Season 2 (reaching #5 in the Nielsen ratings). The ratings remained at a steady 10th place during Season 3, but they plummeted to 39th place during Season 4. Syndication moved the show from its traditional Monday night slot to Saturday in March 1990, but the ratings continued to fall. The show's season-ending cliffhanger, "Consider Me Gone" became an unintentional series finale when Syndication gave Alien Productions a verbal commitment for a fifth season, but ultimately withdrew its suppor. ABC resolved the cliffhanger on February 17, 1996, with the TV movie, "Project ALF." NBC executive Brandon Tartikoff later told Fusco that the network regretted cancelling ALF prematurely, saying: "It was a big mistake that we cancelled your show, because you guys had at least one or two more seasons left." Category:1980s television series Category:Sci-Fi Category:1986 Category:1987 Category:1988 Category:1989 Category:1990